Slug Blossom Sakura
by Eternal Icicle
Summary: Sakura's mind could become a weapon more potent than her earth splitting fists. ANBU will help her harness that intellect. But her sensei doesn't want to see her change like many before her. To what lengths will he go to disuade her? Rating will go up.


_**Hiya everyone :) I have another story for you guys. This is the first time I've written Kakashi so extensively so I'd like it if you guys could give me some feedback on how I've done his character. For those of you who don't know, I like to write a strong Sakura and I've had an idea on the kind of jutsus she could have. Since Naruto and Sasuke had Toad and Snake affinities, I thought that I should do something with Slugs for Sakura. I think it kinda makes them more like the next generation of Sannin that way.**_

_**This story takes place three years after Shippuden so Sakura is 19. Sasuke is still on the run too.**_

_**Right, I'll stop talking so that you can read. I hope you enjoy this :)**_

* * *

**_Slug Blossom Sakura_**

**__****_Chapter One - Overprotective_**

Kakashi hated when she did that. He hated the knowledge that his attacks were pretty much useless against her now. But most of all, he hated knowing that he had finally been surpassed by each of his students. He watched as Sakura's body broke down into small white slugs which each had a pastel pink stripe running from the top of their head and down their entire body. Sakura giggled after reforming her body just as quick as it had broken down, "You're losing your touch sensei." she teased. Kakashi just rolled his one visible eye as he blocked a sharp jab from his female student. It was horrific fighting against a medical ninja with as much expertise as the young pinkette; they knew exactly what they were doing to your body with each punch and it was almost impossible to catch them off guard. With Sakura's newly acquired slug magic it was even more true in her case. What he had just witnessed was the result of Tsunade deciding that Sakura was finally good enough to learn the slug magic that had made her famous.

"I'm still faster than you, Sakura." Kakashi smirked as he swept her feet from underneath her. Any normal person would have fallen to the ground but Sakura merely flipped effortlessly away from him.

"But I'm more resilient." she grinned, "And I have more chakra. You're tiring out."

"Sakura-chan that's 'cause he's old!" the voice of the blond knucklehead ninja Uzumaki Naruto chimed as he sat to the side watching the sparring session unfold.

"I'm not that old." Kakashi pouted, "And Sakura's quite right, I do have less chakra than she does." Sakura chuckled as she managed to knock him off balance before finally pinning him to the floor. She had a feeling that Kakashi had gone easy on her and _let_ her pin him. Despite him being fifteen years her senior, he was no slouch. However, at the risk of sounding like Maito Guy, it was obvious that youth had the advantage when it came to pure resilience. In that respect, Sakura was the most solid member of the team. It was a nice change for Kakashi to see her in this light, "You can let me up now Sluggy." he teased.

"That's not half as offensive as you want it to be." Sakura smirked as she jumped off his chest that she had straddled briefly. It had taken all of Kakashi's willpower to refrain from looking up the skirt that Sakura had on nowadays. It barely covered her thighs and had slits up both sides for ease of movement. Thankfully Sakura had enough decency to wear fishnet shorts underneath it. To honour her slug sensei, Sakura wore a kimono top similar to Tsunade's only hers was red and instead of being tied by an obi, Sakura went with a much more stylish and modern black belt.

"Who said I wanted it to be offensive?" Kakashi asked as he got up from the floor, trying to sound as innocent as possible. In truth, he had wanted to ruffle Sakura's feathers a bit. He watched Sakura put her thin black jacket on which had a pair of pink kanji on it that stood for 'division'. Rather apt considering her new ability, "You've improved a lot Sakura. I'm impressed." he said, giving her his patented eye crinkle smile. Sakura raised an eyebrow and eyed him sceptically. It wasn't often that _she_ was complimented by Kakashi but it seemed that now was one of the rare moments.

"Thanks sensei." she found herself blushing in spite of herself.

"What did you expect Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto grinned, "Sakura-chan's been training with Baa-chan for the past five years!"

"Indeed. I'll have to congratulate her on her teaching style." he said, "Maybe I'll adopt it."

"You couldn't do it even if you tried." Sakura laughed, "Tsunade-shishou's training is for slug summoners only." Her tone was surprisingly smug, a change from her usual self loathing. The training had definitely done the world of good for the girl's self confidence.

"Yeah...In front of me I have a toad boy and a slug woman." Kakashi sighed.

"Hey! Why am I only a 'boy' and she's a 'woman'?" Naruto whined, pouting childishly, "We're the same age!"

"Would you prefer it if I called _you_ a woman too?" he asked. Naruto threw Kakashi a dirty look as Sakura chortled. There was nothing that the jinchuuriki hated more than being humiliated, especially in front of Sakura, "Naruto, compared to Sakura you are still a boy. She's more mature than you."

"That much was obvious from the start." she chuckled, nudging the sulky teen playfully.

"Why is everyone pickin' on me today?" Naruto pouted.

"Aw...Kakashi-sensei, I think we hurt his feelings." Sakura said feigning concern for the boy as she threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Naruto's head nodded solemnly and he faked being upset, "Do you want some ramen Naruto?" she asked softly.

"Yes please." he said childishly.

"Then you can get it yourself." Sakura grinned, pushing the blond away from her. Naruto's face spoke of nothing but disappointment at not being treated by Sakura to his favourite food, "You didn't honestly think _I'd_ treat you to that stuff, did you? Do you have any idea how bad that shit is for you?" Both Naruto and Kakashi tried to suppress a grimace as Sakura launched into the medical ninja's guide of what not to eat. It sounded to both of them like Sakura had swallowed the textbook that she had been given by Tsunade to study from. It was astounding just how much Sakura knew about all of it; mind you, she had always had an excellent memory, almost photographic. Sakura ranted about how it would be against her ethics as a medic to allow someone to throw their lives away by eating nothing but ramen.

"Quick Kakashi-sensei! Train me so she'll shut up." Naruto hissed as he rose from his seated position. Kakashi couldn't help but agree with him. He'd had enough of the hospital a couple of weeks ago and he didn't need to relive all of the lectures that the nurses, especially Shizune and Tsunade, had given him about his lifestyle. Apparently sex, drink and food weren't healthy. He and Naruto daren't argue with the women though since all three could most likely kick their arses in a heartbeat.

"Hey! I'm not finished!" Sakura shouted over as Naruto drew a kunai and rushed for Kakashi. It was her turn to pout at the fact that neither man paid even a shred of attention to her now. _'Oh well,'_ she thought with a sigh, _'It won't be my problem when Naruto has a heart attack.'_ She tried to convince herself of that fact many times but it was impossible; anything to do with Naruto was automatically her problem, not that she _wanted_ him to have a heart attack of course. She guessed she kind of overdid it on the medical ninja preaching side of her job. Sometimes she couldn't stop herself.

The young woman smiled softly as she leaned back and watched the pair of them train. You could really see both of their passion for the ninja arts when they fought; their entire bodies were put into every powerful yet strangely graceful movement. With years of experience under his belt, Kakashi was surer in his movements than Naruto was. Or maybe that was just the blonde's fighting style; go with the flow as opposed to Kakashi who controlled every aspect of the fight.

Her eyes narrowed when she spotted something different about their fight. It was so much more intense than hers had been. Kakashi even had his Sharingan active and was actually using his signature technique against Naruto when he hadn't done so against her. While Naruto was more skilled than she was, Sakura didn't think that the deficit was _that_ large that Kakashi felt the need to use his Sharingan for one and not the other. It seemed a little bit unfair to her. But then again, she wasn't anywhere near as fast as Naruto was so there really was no need to read her movements. Even as she told herself that, Sakura felt as if something was wrong. She was up for an ANBU position in less than a week and she didn't really feel prepared.

To add insult to injury, Kakashi had just started to break a sweat. He'd not even really been out of breath fighting against her. That was a major confidence killer; she had thought she'd done well to match his movements as she had but now she had to wonder if she really was a match for him or was he just telling her what she wanted to hear. That wasn't a nice thing for her to think about her sensei but the thought just wouldn't go away. It made her feel really petty and childish for thinking it. She was a match for her shishou when it came to slug magic so why not Kakashi? Kakashi was sent ploughing into the ground by a powerful punch from Naruto which impressed Sakura greatly. It was more than she had been able to do.

"Well done Naruto." Kakashi said as he wrenched himself off the ground, "That right hook of yours is really coming along."

"Is that all?" Naruto smirked.

"Of course not." the Copy Ninja sighed, shaking his head, "As usual your speed is incredible and your ability to think on your feet is developing nicely too." Naruto was beaming at the praise, "But you have a long way to go so don't get cocky." Sakura jumped up and congratulated Naruto. He really had done well to beat Kakashi like he had. Sakura just put her doubts down to being silly. Kakashi was in no way biased towards anyone.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm? What is it Sakura?" Kakashi replied.

"It's just that I'm applying for ANBU later this week and I-"

"ANBU is not for you, Sakura." Kakashi said simply as he walked away, "You're not the kind of person that they're looking for I can tell you that now."

"Well Tsunade-shishou seems to think I'm ready." Sakura went on the defensive. In fact, it had been her mentor who had suggested the move because it could teach her valuable leadership and tactical skills. Kakashi turned around and gave Sakura a serious look which made her brow furrow in confusion.

"I'll have a word with her." Kakashi said before poofing out of existence in the blink of an eye, leaving Sakura stunned by her sensei's words. Her fists were clenched and her teeth grinding together in anger.

"Get out of the way Naruto." Sakura warned the blond before she roared loudly and shattered the very earth with the heel of her shoe. Naruto managed to avoid the mass of debris which was launched in all directions by his teammate's fury, "That jerk! Thinks he knows better than Tsunade-shishou does he?" she fumed. She breathed heavily as she stood in the epicentre of the destruction. Naruto was sure that this training area would be completely useless for quite some time thanks to Sakura. The pinkette didn't like the way that Kakashi had voiced his opinion; it had made her seem weak and her shishou seem like she didn't know what she was doing, "I hope Tsunade-shishou really lets him have it." she snarled.

_XxxXxxXxxXxxX_

"You seem to be under the impression that I don't know my student, Kakashi." Tsunade said as she stamped more of the built up paperwork before adding it to the 'done' pile. Her facial expression was not one that indicated she was happy with being criticized at all, "I _think_ I know Sakura a bit better than even you do."

"With all due respect Tsunade-sama, you don't." Kakashi argued, keeping his voice as calm as he could given the situation. Shouting at Tsunade would not help matters at all. In fact, it would most likely put Sakura on the fast track to becoming an ANBU just to spite him, not to mention the trip to the hospital he'd have to suffer through for his rudeness. Tsunade's amber eyes locked with the grey one Kakashi owned, silently telling him to explain himself immediately, "I've trained Sakura since she was twelve. I know her capabilities and her personality."

"As do I." Tsunade interrupted, putting the stamp down, "You aren't giving Sakura the credit she deserves, Kakashi." She did not like where Kakashi's point was going. It would most likely involve some kind of slam against her apprentice.

"Sakura is too nice for ANBU." Kakashi explained, "Too soft. I honestly cannot see her being the coldblooded killer that they need." Having served in the organisation himself he knew exactly what was required of each and every recruit and hated the very thought that his student would be subjected to that, "And...Some of the more _delicate_ missions..." Tsunade's eyebrow quirked. It wasn't like Kakashi to dance around the point like this. He was usually a straightforward man who had a tendency to be a bit too blunt at times. Maybe this was bothering him more than he was letting on.

"ANBU or not, Sakura would still have to carry out those missions once she reaches the age of twenty one." Tsunade said, "I did them, Shizune does them. Every kunoichi in the history of this village has and will do them." Her tone was soft considering that Kakashi was actually voicing a delicate concern of his, "I will not make exceptions for your team especially when one of Konoha's most skilled kunoichi is serving on it."

"This is getting me absolutely nowhere isn't it?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm surprised you took this long to figure it out." Tsunade said, "If Sakura passes the exam she will be given extensive ANBU training. I want her to experience that Kakashi. I want her to learn to use that incredible mind of hers in battle. Is that so bad?"

"Yes." he answered simply.

"Are you sure this isn't because of what happened to the girl on your team?" Tsunade asked, "Oh what was her name...Rin. That's it."

"It's nothing to do with her." Kakashi frowned as he turned away.

"Rin died during an ANBU exercise if I remember correctly." Tsunade said, "Do you want to spare Sakura that risk?" It was a stupid question which resulted in Kakashi walking straight out of the room. The blonde Hokage shook her head with a sigh. Kakashi had to learn that he couldn't wrap his students up in cotton wool forever. He'd just learned to let Naruto spread his wings and now it was Sakura's turn. If he could let go of the past, he might be able to aid Sakura in becoming even more powerful than Tsunade herself. He was a fool and Tsunade would not allow that to hold back a girl with as much potential as Sakura had.

Kakashi's hands were thrust inside his pockets as he walked briskly down the corridor. That meeting had gone completely the wrong way. He would have thought Tsunade had a little more sense than to put her student in that position. The life of an ANBU agent was dangerous, especially for women. It wasn't that they were weak in any way. In fact, some of the top agents were women. No...It was the seduction part of the kunoichi lifestyle that left a sour taste in Kakashi's mouth. He had seen many women killed or mentally broken through those missions. He couldn't count the number of women he'd been forced to kill or scar in similar situations. Even now, after he'd quit ANBU, he'd get a mission like that and he'd dread the thought of carrying it out. Women who heard his point of view thought he was misogynistic but he actually had all the respect in the world for women like Tsunade and Sakura; women who weren't afraid to be visibly strong.

When he became Sakura's sensei, he had vowed to protect her with his life. Allowing her to join ANBU like this seemed to be akin to betraying that promise. Sakura dying wasn't even the biggest of his worries because she was a medical ninja and one of the best at that. With her new abilities too, it was hard to injure her. No...What Kakashi had to worry about most is what Sakura would become as a result of the training. She wouldn't be able to retain that same sparkle in her eyes that showed everyone her youthful innocence. She'd become cold and calculating like so many others had. The change just didn't seem to suit her in his eyes.

It wasn't even like she needed to join to become strong either. She was just like Tsunade and she had never been ANBU trained. Look where she had ended up; as Hokage. Whether she knew it or not, Tsunade was living proof that ANBU was not obligatory if you wanted to be strong.

"Hey, Kakashi. What's up?" came a voice from beside him. The cheery note to it sounded strange to the sombre man. Kakashi didn't need to look at the man to identify him; the smell of smoke did it for him. Kakashi stopped walking and turned to face the man whom he hadn't even seen walking towards him.

"Asuma." he nodded.

"Wow. Who pissed in your coffee this morning?" the bearded man asked upon hearing Kakashi's icy tones.

"Tsunade did when she told Sakura she could take the test for ANBU." Kakashi said. He hoped that Asuma might actually agree with him since he had a girl on his team.

"Ah yes...I remember when Ino took that last year." Asuma smiled. Kakashi grimaced; he'd forgotten that Ino was an ANBU agent already, "Can't say I can see what your problem is buddy."

"My problem is that Sakura's only a little girl." Kakashi snapped, "She shouldn't be – Asuma what's so funny?" The smoker was chuckling beside him, his eyes screwed up in mirth.

"Take another look Kakashi." he smirked, "Sakura-chan is far from a 'little girl'."

"You know what I mean." the silver haired man sighed, rolling his eyes, "She's just so young and innocent."

"And you're scared ANBU will taint her?" Asuma asked. Kakashi nodded, "Sakura's a smart kid. Smarter than Ino if I'm honest." It wasn't exactly hard to be smarter than the Yamanaka princess who spent more time primping than training, "But it might actually help to make her a well rounded shinobi. Her brain is her second most defining trait. While she's no Shikamaru she's certainly smart. ANBU will enhance that."

"Tsunade-sama said that same thing." Kakashi huffed.

"The woman knows her stuff Kakashi." Asuma said, "And she knows Sakura well. I think you should lighten up a little bit and see how it goes. If Sakura doesn't like it, she can always quit. Like you did."

"Thanks Asuma." Kakashi sighed, "You succeeded in making me feel like the bad guy here." The other shinobi laughed and patted the man's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kakashi." Asuma grinned, "You'll probably end up proving me wrong anyway. I'd better get going; I've got a mission report to hand in." Kakashi nodded and bid farewell to his fellow jonin advisor with a sigh. Usually Kakashi was the knowledgeable one but now he was taking advice from Asuma. He felt like he'd hit an all time low thanks to his judgement being clouded by his fears. Asuma had helped to ease some of the worries he had; if Ino could handle ANBU life, Sakura could too. In his opinion, Sakura was ten times the shinobi she was.

However, Ino had one thing over Sakura; she could be ruthless. Sakura was not naturally like that towards anyone who didn't completely deserve it. Unlike Ino she couldn't just turn it off and on at the drop of a hat. Plus, Ino was more comfortable in her skin and enjoyed the attention her body garnered. Sakura was slightly more introverted. That all seemed to outweigh the pros that both Asuma and Tsunade had outlined for him. Maybe that was just his protective attitude towards the only female member of his team. Kakashi groaned to himself quietly and began to trudge back down the corridor, all of his conflicting emotions warring inside his body. It was giving him an intense headache.

* * *

Sakura's bad mood was still raging by the time she had returned to the house that she, Naruto, Sai and Kakashi shared. Up until now it had been a nice arrangement and helped their team relationship increase even further. However, with the recent actions of Kakashi in regard to Sakura's ANBU test, there were bound to be icy glares and awkward silences abound. The pinkette was determined to prove to Kakashi that she was more than capable of serving as part of the same organisation that both he and Sai had once worked in. His attitude was completely unjustified in her mind.

"C'mon Sakura-chan, just calm down." Naruto pleaded as he sat across the table from the young woman who was flicking through the information pack that she needed in order to pass the test. He didn't want to have to live in a house where two of the inhabitants didn't see eye to eye. It was already bad enough with the constant string of women that Kakashi had coming in and out.

"No Naruto. I will not 'calm down'." Sakura frowned, "Not until I prove to Kakashi-sensei that I am perfectly capable of being an ANBU agent."

"You've got nothing to prove!" he argued, "You kicked his ass this morning."

"Wrong." Sakura's voice rang out in the kitchen, "He went easy on me." Naruto's eyebrow was quirked. All of this had escaped his attention. Sakura looked up at him and sighed, "He didn't bother to use his Sharingan against me or even touch a single drop of his chakra. How is that full power, Naruto?" He had to admit, she had a point. It didn't really seem fair if what she was saying was true.

"Maybe he didn't want to hurt you." Naruto shrugged.

"Bullshit." Sakura snapped, "As long as I have chakra, I can't be seriously hurt remember?" Between her medical prowess and her ability to split her body into small slugs, much like Katsuyu could, it was hard to hit, injure or capture Sakura, "And I'm a freaking jonin for Kami's sake! It's not like I'm some fragile genin anymore!" Naruto sighed. Sometimes it was just better to let Sakura rant and just agree with her for the time being. Arguing with her would most likely result in a one way ticket to the hospital and he was already close to getting his own personal room there anyway.

The pair heard the dispelling of the seal that Sakura had placed upon the front door before the silver haired man in question trudged in, for once without some woman on his arm, "Hiya Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto grinned.

"Oh. Hi Naruto. Sakura." Kakashi merely nodded at his students. With one harsh look at her sensei, Sakura snapped her booklet shut and stood up sharply.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room. Studying for my test." Sakura snapped before striding out of the room with yet another horrific look at Kakashi who just shrugged it off. It was like dealing with a petulant five year old at times, living with Sakura and her mood swings. Kakashi waited until the sound of Sakura's bedroom door slamming reached his ears before moving towards the table that Naruto was sat at. The blond looked as if he'd had his teammate chewing him out for the past few hours because of how he'd treated Sakura and her desire to join ANBU.

"I see she's not calmed down." he sighed, shaking his head.

"You really expected her to?" Naruto scoffed, running his fingers through his hair, "Sakura-chan's as stubborn as me sometimes. Seriously, you'd have thought you'd kicked her cat or something from the way she was ranting earlier." Naruto grimaced at the memory of what Sakura had done to the field after Kakashi had left them, "She smashed up the training field too."

"Rather that than her smashing _me _up." Kakashi shrugged.

"You kinda deserved it though." Naruto said cautiously, eyeing up his sensei to gauge his reaction. Kakashi looked up at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"How so?" he asked.

"You went easy on her then told her she wasn't ANBU material." Naruto explained, "Then you made it sound like Baa-chan doesn't know what she'd going on about."

"Sakura noticed did she?" Kakashi asked.

"She's not dumb." Naruto frowned, "So you _did_ go easy on her? Why?"

"I have my reasons." The Copy Ninja stated, leaning back into his chair and not elaborating on his point. Naruto's piercing blue eyes stared at him in utter disbelief. He thought that Kakashi had respect for Sakura's abilities but this made it sound as if he didn't care about her development at all, "Don't look at me like that Naruto."

"Why did you go easy on her?" Naruto asked, lowering his voice so that there was no way that Sakura could overhear them.

"Does it really matter?" Kakashi asked.

"You bet it does!" Naruto hissed, "Sakura-chan's feeling crap because of that! Tell me why!"

"I can't because I don't really know myself." Kakashi sighed. That much was the truth; he didn't know what it was about Sakura but he couldn't really find it in him to hit her. Naruto stood up with a growl.

"Well figure it out Kakashi-sensei or get over whatever it is." he said, "Sakura-chan's not weak if that's what it is. Please...just give her a chance to prove that she can do it." As he began to walk out of the room, Kakashi's eye fell to the table below where his fists were clenched. Now two of his students were pissed off. Kakashi shook his head as he pushed himself out of his sitting position. There was no way he'd get any peace if both Sakura _and_ Naruto were angry with him. As much as he'd have liked to avoid confronting her, Kakashi needed to at least attempt to set things straight. He trudged out of the kitchen and down the hall to where Sakura's room was. The door was slightly ajar. Beneath his mask Kakashi bit his lip as he knocked gently on the wood.

"Sakura?" he asked, pushing the door open. His gaze fell upon Sakura's form sat in the middle of a group of books. This was how he usually found her now that she was studying extensively for her exams. Sakura's eyes briefly flicked upwards before falling back to the book on her knee. Kakashi stayed in the doorway, knowing what a bad idea it would be to go further into the room.

"What is it Kakashi?" she asked.

_'Crap. She's really pissy.'_ he thought. Sakura only ever left off the 'sensei' part of his name if she was furious with him. He took the opportunity to venture a little further into the room, shutting the door behind him and perching himself on the edge of Sakura's bed. His visible eye widened momentarily as he saw the book that Sakura was studying from. Diagrams of sexual positions and techniques that a kunoichi could use to get the maximum cooperation from an informant were printed on the pages. At the thought of Sakura in any one of those positions, Kakashi felt his throat close up, "Um...It's about this ANBU business..." he said before clearing his throat.

"I've said all I want to on the matter Kakashi." Sakura sighed, "I'm doing the exam and you can't stop me."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, "Sakura do you know what you're getting yourself into?" he asked as he took the book from her and flicked through it, "You do realise that you could die doing this, right?"

"Ino can do it so how hard can it be?" Sakura shrugged, "And, as a shinobi, I could die at any time on any mission. There's your argument out of the window."

"No. It's not." Kakashi said sternly, "ANBU life is hard. It's ten, no, a hundred times more dangerous than the average shinobi life. You will deal with individuals who are more dangerous than you've ever faced." Sakura shot him a glare which silenced him. Did his honestly think that she was unaware of that simple fact? Not realising just how angry she was, she began to speak again.

"I am a medical ninja." Sakura said, her voice rising in volume, "Not only that but I can shatter boulders with my fists and split my body up to avoid capture or damage! Face it Kakashi, you just don't think I'm able to do it."

"That's where you're right." Kakashi snapped, his tone icy, "I _don't_ think you can do it."

_XxxXxxXxxXxxX_

Kakashi's head rose from a pillow with a groan. The pain that coursed through his head felt like it was tearing him in two. He tried to rub the painful spot in an effort to soothe himself but a sharp pain shot through the arm that he tried to use. With every tense of his muscles, sharp stabbing pain shot through him. He couldn't even remember what could have happened to make him feel like crap. His eye opened to find that he was no longer inside the apartment that he'd shared with his students. The walls around him were painted a bright white and there was an annoying beeping sound in the Copy Ninja's ear. He turned his head with another pained groan and noticed that Tsunade was stood at his side shuffling some papers.

"You're lucky to be alive after what you said to her Kakashi." she informed him without even looking around.

"What?" he asked, "Said to who? Is this because I refused to sleep with that woman?"

"I sure hope you're delerious." Tsunade snapped, "Because if you tried to sleep with Sakura then I'll end your life right now." Ah. So it had been _Sakura_ who had put him inside his own personal hell. Kakashi began to vehemently deny coming onto his female student. He couldn't remember for the life of him what he had done to warrant being hospitalised by her though.

"What did that girl do to me?" he asked, trying to sit up only to feel an ache throughout his chest.

"Broke five ribs, both of your arms," Tsunade answered, "Shattered your left kneecap and fractured your skull. As I said, you're a lucky guy. I cannot _believe_ you were so stupid as to actually tell her she wasn't good enough to be in ANBU!" Her amber eyes were blazing with the same anger that Sakura had held on the day he confronted her. Kakashi remembered letting his protectiveness get the better of him to the point where he got angry. Sakura's reaction was nothing compared to what Tsunade would do to him if he dared to mouth off to her. Still, he didn't like how easily Sakura had caught him offguard and nearly killed him.

"She's still incredibly angry with you." she continued.

"Yeah...I guess so." Kakashi sighed.

"While I don't condone what Sakura did to you, and she was punished accordingly, you were no better." Tsunade said, her tone stern.

"I know...What I said was stupid." Kakashi sighed. He had only wanted to dissuade Sakura from making the choice to take the exam. His anger at the thought of Sakura seducing men like some common whore had caused him to say something that he didn't mean. Sakura was more than capable.

"Please tell me you don't really think that she's too weak for ANBU." Tsunade sighed, "As much as she's angry, Sakura's even more upset that you think of her as weak."

"Of course I don't think that." Kakashi said. Tsunade looked visibly relieved. It meant that she wouldn't have to split up the team because of a sensei who didn't believe in one of his students. Kakashi certainly did not believe that Sakura was weak, especially after her being able to this to him. Tsunade sighed and perched herself onto the edge of his bed.

"I want you to prove it." Tsunade said, "Sakura is out doing the practical exam. Plus, she scored perfect marks on the written exam. When she comes back she's almost guaranteed a post. I want _you_ to oversee her training as an ANBU."

* * *

_**How was that? I'm not sure about Kakashi's attitude. I always thought he'd be outwardly stoic and cool but inside he might be a little more emotional and maybe be a little overprotective of those he cared about. I also wanted to do something with the fact that everyone thinks that Kakashi is attractive so I'll be giving him a little credit as a lady's man :P **_

_**I hope it wasn't too bad. Even if it was awful, reviews are always appreciated.**_

_**Until next time,  
**__**Eternal :)**_


End file.
